Moo-bars.

[eldudino]

I'm toying with the idea of putting cow/bull horn bars (as commonly seen on fixie's) on my hybrid bike. I like the current stretch so I'm not thinking about a stem replacement at the moment and I want to use my current Shimano rapid fire gear/brake levers which I would mount on the inside of the bars. I currently use bar-ends which I find I use quite a lot but I feel like some narrower bars and I like the look of the bovine items.

My questions really are:

1. Will I be able to use my current gear shifter/brake levers.
2. Will I be able to buy a standard set of road bike bars, flip them upside down and cut them as it'll be cheaper than the proper-jobs.
3. Should I not bother; it's going to look like dog-meat.

ps. dunno if this is in the right section, if not, someone can let me know!

 

[fossyant]

Depends if the shifters will 'negotiate' the bend as you fit them.

Other option - lop some inches off your bars and refit the bar ends ?

 

[TheDoctor]

The diameter of the bars are different. You may well get away with it on the stem (center bulge is 26 mm for drops, 25.4 mm for flat) but I don't think the levers will go on. I couldn't fit flat bar brake levers to chopped and flipped drop bars, and I can't think of any gear shifters that will fit on either.

If you're just after narrower bars, why not take a hacksaw to the ones you've got? Move everything in as far as feels comfy / you can, and saw the remaining bits of bar off once you're happy with the narrowness.

Damn - beaten to it!

 

[Joe24]

Have a little look at this thread.
Here
You might not have the same problems though.

 

[eldudino]

Have a little look at this thread.
Here
You might not have the same problems though.

That's made up my mind, I'm sticking with what I've got!

Incidentally I chopped 18mm from each end of the bars and it feels much nicer to ride now. It's as far as I can go without causing problems to the fitment my Cateye light switch.

 

[Radius]

Yup, was gonna point you to my thread as it's the exact same issue, and I've considered cutting my bars too. Am still thinking about the new bar end levers / shifters thing as well though, if I am satisfied with putting that much money into that bike...